unwell

U1N1W4E1L1L1
/ʌnˈwɛl/

adjective

Not in good health; not feeling well; somewhat ill

“feel unwell”

Similar
ailingunder the weatherdiseaseddisease-riddeninfectinfectedmorbidmorbific
OriginEnglish well ← Middle English wel, wal, wol, wele ← Old English wel →
UncommonScrabble 9
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Meanings

adjectiveunwell (comparative more unwell, superlative most unwell)

comparative more unwell · superlative most unwell

  1. Not in good health; not feeling well; somewhat ill

    feel unwell

    Synonyms: ailing, under the weather, diseased, disease-ridden, infect, infected, morbid, morbific

  2. datedeuphemisticSpecifically, ill from menstruation; affected with, or having, catamenial; menstruant.

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveNot in good health; not feeling well; somewhat ill

Similar
ailingunder the weatherdiseaseddisease-riddeninfectinfectedmorbidmorbificmorboseunhealthy

More synonyms by meaning

adjectivesomewhat ill or prone to illness

Similar
ailingindisposedpeakedpoorlysicklyunder the weatherseedyillsick
Also see
ailingillindisposedinfirmpeakedpoorlyropyroughseedysicksickishsicklytumidunder the weather

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Proto-Indo-European*né
  2. Proto-Indo-European*n̥-
  3. Proto-Germanic*un-
  4. Proto-West Germanic*un-
  5. Old Englishun-
  6. Middle Englishun-
  7. Englishun-
  8. Proto-Indo-European*welh₁-
  9. Proto-Germanic*welazder.?
  10. Proto-Germanic*welat?
  11. Proto-Germanic*wela
  12. Old Englishwel
  13. Middle Englishwel, wal, wol, wele
  14. Englishwell
  15. Englishunwell

From un- + well.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian неразположен, болнав
  • неразположен (nerazpoložen)not well
  • болнав (bolnav)not well
Chinese Cantonese 唔舒服
  • 唔舒服 (m⁴ syu¹ fuk⁶)not well
Chinese Mandarin 不舒服
  • 不舒服 (bùshūfu)not well
Danish småsyg
  • småsygnot well
Dutch onwel
  • onwelnot well
Finnish sairas, huonovointinen
  • sairasnot well
  • huonovointinennot well
French indisposé, souffrant
  • indisposénot well
  • souffrantnot well
  • maladenot well
  • qui ne se sent pas biennot well
Hungarian rosszul
  • rosszulnot well
Italian indisposto
  • indispostonot well
Māori ngātoro
  • ngātoronot well
Norwegian Bokmål uvel
  • uvelnot well
Polish niezdrowy
  • niezdrowynot well
Russian нездоро́вый
  • нездоро́вый (nezdoróvyj)not well
Spanish indispuesto, hasta el queque
  • indispuestonot well
  • hasta el quequenot well
  • malnot well
  • enfermonot well
  • que no se encuentra biennot well
Swedish krasslig
  • krasslignot well

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with unwell

wellhotellsellcelltelleldelpersonneldellNFLshellfellexcelMichellegeldlmotelspellsmellrebelbellemelmichel
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

unwell. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unwell

MLA

“unwell.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unwell. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “unwell,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/unwell.

Source: unwell on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.